A 2,073ft (632 metre) structure, Shanghai Tower stands in the city’s Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, beside the Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center. Once complete it will be the tallest building in Asia and the second-tallest building in the world, after Dubai’s 2,716.5ft-tall Burj Khalifa.

Perhaps even more impressive than the structure’s height will be its form. The semi-transparent building twists as it rises – its spiralling form is meant to reduce wind load by 24 per cent during typhoons. Designers claim the curve is also meant to “symbolise the dynamic emergence of modern China.” Currently the tallest completed twisted tower is Dubai’s Cayan Tower . That building was inaugurated earlier this year and stands at 1,010ft (307 metres) tall. Shanghai Tower will be completed in 2014.

Shanghai Tower is the creation of US-based architectural firm Gensler, whose other developments include Houston’s Hess Tower and Farmers Field in Los Angeles. The 121-storey building will include offices, numerous entertainment venues, retail units, a conference centre, cultural attractions and a luxury hotel.

If completed it will come in at 2,739ft and will house schools, a hospital, apartments, theatres, cinemas and shopping centres, in addition to Sky City, a ‘vertical farm’ that can provide enough food for the building’s 30,000-plus residents. Building was halted within a week of beginning, after concerns that the site lacked proper safety measures and government approval emerged.